If things were different, Wendy Long would be a household name. She'd be a heroine, and she'd be driving the election season.

But Long is the Republican running for Senate in New York, where calculations were made long ago to ensure that Republicans don't win Hillary Clinton's old spot, the old Daniel Patrick Moynihan seat. But such plans don't have to pan out.

Long is exactly the kind of woman the Senate needs. A former Supreme Court law clerk, she left private practice at an esteemed firm to build the Judicial Confirmation Network, a conservative advocacy group. This campaign is not the first time she and her family have made sacrifices in seeking to contribute to the preservation of our republic.

"I jumped into this race because I believe, in 2012, everything is on the line for America. Our free-market economy is on the line. Capitalism is on the line. The dignity of work and the dignity of human life are on the line. Our security; our energy independence; so much is at stake in this election ... My hope is that we can focus on the real issues, because there is such a strong contrast" in the electoral choices this year, she said in a recent interview on a Catholic television network.

It's hard to focus on real issues though, when the incumbent, Kirsten Gillibrand, has ignored debate requests thus far. When Gillibrand was on display in a march of female senators at the recent Democratic convention, we were reminded of the mainstream media's insistence that only liberal women truly represent the gender, and that women's freedom is dependent on the lessening of religious liberty.

"I think a lot of women, women of faith in particular, understand that this whole 'war' about the contraception/abortion/sterilization mandate is not about women's health," Long said in that same interview. "It's about a big, central government trying to conscript religious organizations into a political agenda, an agenda that violates their deeply held beliefs ... that are shared by women of faith."

The Democrats "seem to be focused on these issues of abortion, contraception, sterilization, thinking that's really what's on the minds of most women and I just think that that is incorrect. I think women really are concerned about the economy and jobs," Long said. (Her point is underscored by a recent Susan B. Anthony List poll that indicates that the HHS mandate could cause trouble for swing voters in battleground states.)

She has appeared in the Wall Street Journal twice, writing about financial reform, embracing a less punitive approach than current Empire State senators. "The Democrats are making a bad gamble, politically speaking," she observes.

"The people I see all around New York love our country and our state, and they're angry and worried that the America they love is slipping away," Long tells me. "The establishment in Washington, including Sen. Gillibrand, acts like nothing's wrong and we could go on like this forever. The people know that we can't."

Wendy Long gets it: The fear and the disappointment that hope and change curdled into. You don't have to be a Republican to vote for her. You don't have to be a conservative -- you just need to be a concerned citizen.

New York, your country needs you. The U.S. Senate needs responsible servants. We all need Wendy Long in the Senate.

Sometimes we get some really nice surprises in New York State, when NY conservatives don’t give up, and here’s an example:

Bob Turner became a congressman.

“Republican Bob Turner won handily over the Democratic candidate in a district that no a Republican has won since 1923. His opponent’s vote in favor of same-sex “marriage” in the New York legislature played an important role in the Republican’s victory.

Kathy Marchione, Republican candidate for State Senate, a strong CONSERVATIVE, won the Republican primaries even though she was outspent 10-1, by RINO Roy McDonald, who voted for same-sex so-called marriage in NY State.

Here’s part of my email from Wendy Long, which mentions this Townhall article by Kathryn Jean Lopez:

“Dear Friend:

The deadline for donations to my campaign that will qualify for the Third Quarter Federal Election Commission Report is less than 12 hours away.

Midnight is the cut-off.

Understandably, my opponent, Kirsten Gillibrand is the sweetheart of the far left. She is after all, the most liberal member of the U.S. Senate. In fact, she’s even more liberal than Al Franken or self-described “Democratic Socialist” Bernie Sanders.

That’s enabled her to raise millions of dollars from donors like Barbara Streisand, Susan Sarandon, and entertainment mogul Harvey Weinstein.

You get the picture and, if you’re a conservative like me, I really don’t have to say much more.

Yesterday, Kathryn Jean Lopez, editor of National Review Online wrote an article on my campaign that appeared on www.TownHall.com and truly captures why I’m running.

My candidacy is based on my belief in our Constitution, a love of our country and the fear of what lies in store for our children if we don’t stop this leftward lurch that is slowly stamping out the freedoms we all hold dear. ..”

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